Takeaway: hot beverages

23 February, 2007

Page 12

February's round-up of new products, from Productscan, throws up some novel ideas in the international coffee and beverages market. Productscan is an international on-line market intelligence service, published by New York-based Datamonitor.

The round-up highlights Starbucks' new venture into providing hot vending coffee, manufactured by PepsiCo. The coffee comes out of vending machines in recyclable steel cans. It is available in various flavours, including café latte. The launch, already well-established in Japan, highlights an emerging trend in the United States for vending dispensed coffee and other hot drinks, according to Productscan's research.Another novel coffee product has been released in the US by EasyCoffeeLovers. The Vincent Sir branded instant coffee comes in cube format, also available in non-alcoholic flavours, such as brandy, carajillo, and amaretto. The cubes can be dissolved in either hot water or hot milk.A new type of milk has also been introduced to the Spanish market by Leche Celta, accor- ding to the research. Celta Antiox Leche Desnatada Funcional con Extracto de Te Verde contains a green tea extract, Teavigo, which is made up of EGCG, thought to help diminish the risk of cardiovascular illnesses and reduce the formation of cavities.
EGCG, is a novel ingredient which is increasingly being added to other food and drink products, including bakery products, as a metabolism-boosting weight loss aid.